The Cathryn Sloane Firestorm-Where Are You Ms. Sloane?

The technorati are not
amused over recent college graduate Cathryn Sloane's blog post that all social media managers should be under 25. I wont enter the fray on
that argument; suffice to say that in my experience, usage of social media for
personal interactions does not equal qualifications gained over time managing a
brand. (One of the complaints I often hear from Marketing and Communications
Directors who have young staff working under them is that their team excels at understanding
how new media tools work, but they don’t
always know why they should be using
the tools in the context of brand management.)

What fascinates me about
this story, is that more than 500 people commented on Ms. Sloane’s article and numerous
folks took the time to write articulate rebuttal articles, and even linked back
to “prebuttals” such as this one. In short, it’s been a
veritable link fest, engendering the kind of response to a piece of content
that most of us who work in social media hope, and work hard for. Yet the crowd
that she so successfully engaged has received nothing but radio silence from
Ms. Sloane since the article was posted. She even went so far as to block
followers on her Twitter account who had a dissenting opinion to her article.

This
is a problem.

I tell my clients to compare
"engaging" on social media to going to a large, in-person networking
party. There’ll be important people there that you should get to know, as
perhaps they could be the key to the particular nut you’re trying to crack at
the moment. You may know a few people already, so you shouldn’t ignore them, but
you also have to have conversations with people you don’t know–whether it’s by
listening in on an existing conversation to see where you can add something of
value, or approaching a stranger and striking up a dialogue. And you have to do
this in a respectful way; you have to be smart, interesting, funny and a really
good listener and someone who can keep a conversation flowing. You must also hold
people’s interest, so they feel a connection and start to see something in you.
You never know who’s going to be there, and what role they could have in your
life and career, so you wouldn't go to this party dressed in a risqué outfit,
you wouldn't share intimate and inappropriate details about your personal life and
you certainly wouldn’t start throwing out incendiary remarks to get attention
unless you really had a good reason for doing so, and were prepared to defend
them.

What Ms. Sloane did was the social
media equivalent of dropping a politically incorrect bomb at an important cocktail party, then making a run for the door. While the dropping of the bomb itself might
have been a strategic move to encourage link bait, her response seemingly was
not. Not only did she not explain her position further–something anyone who has
taken an undergraduate critical thinking class knows is, well, critical to
credibility–she also missed a golden opportunity to engage and continue the debate
with her detractors which could have created meaningful dialogue and provided a
lot of value across the Internet. The fact that she eschewed such rigorous
discourse is more damaging to her reputation than her actual article because we
have to surmise that she’s either intellectually lazy or thin-skinned, and maybe a
bit of both–it certainly doesn’t help her argument that young people just
“know” how to be social, better than their older counterparts, because they are
digital natives who’ve been using social media from a young age. Ultimately, the fact that she hasn't yet
stepped up to the plate to take responsibility for and address the impact of her
provocation, makes her look, at best, inconsistent and certainly not someone you’d want to be
in relationship with–which is still a lot of what being in business is all about.

The mind boggles as to what exciting things may have come her way–interviews, speaking engagements, job offers, book deals, etc., but I hope that no-one offers Ms. Sloane a job in social media–at least, not yet, anyway–until she’s learned (or displays)
better etiquette. Her behavior is the
antithesis of how networking and making real connections works, whether it’s in person or on the Internet. In professional settings it could seriously damage relationships and ultimately a brand’s
reputation. In any case, it’s behavior that shouldn’t be rewarded.

And that’s true, no matter
how old you are.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

Marta, I agree that anyone has the potential to be facile with social media tools if they possess the attributes you describe.

When the tools are being used to accomplish business objectives however, it's critical to understand consumer behavior and what sort of forces are at work in the marketplace that can influence that behavior, in order to develop the most effective strategy for employing the tools. It gets back to the "why" versus the "what" in my post.

Knowing to what end the tools are being used for comes with training and experience, something that can only be acquired over time. Young people have a steep learning curve as they are just entering the workforce. Similarly, someone changing careers to marketing would face the same learning curve, regardless of their age.

What I doI help companies and nonprofit organizations promote their products and activate their communities, thereby reaching their organizational and business goals. You can learn more about me and say hello on Twitter @nzensius.

How I do itWe’re in a steep learning curve with marketing communications these days. I’m fascinated and invigorated by this ever-changing world and stay on top of trends and tools, so I can advise clients why, how and when to use them, in conjunction with traditional marketing methods. I emphasize the importance of measurement, (likes and eyeballs don’t necessarily translate to sales or impact), and branding, as I feel that marketing communications isn't as effective without them.

Whether you’re looking for support with a specific project, or need someone to steward your MarComm efforts, I’m here to help. I excel at both big-picture strategic thinking and rolling up my sleeves to get stuff done.

Why I do itBefore consulting, I headed up Marketing Communications at several organizations over the course of about 15 years. Working in both the for profit and nonprofit sectors–in addition to spending time on the agency side–taught me the following about what I value and what makes work meaningful for me:

•Working with smart, positive, fun people, who work for companies and organizations I admire, that are making the world a better place for all of us•Helping those organizations and companies grow and get better at what they do and those people succeed in their careers•Engaging in projects that challenge us and demand all of our creativity and resourcefulness •Doing honest, authentic work that is devoid of BS •Partnering with other talented consultants to deliver value to our clients•Wearing many hats and learning new things

Being a consultant allows me stay true to my values and to touch/learn from many more people and companies/organizations than I could as an employee.